Cynics will say that Hollywood doesn’t try anymore. They’ll point to Marvel movies, the Fast and Furious films, or Star Wars and say, ‘they’re just not trying’. For the most part, we here at The Digital Fix try and avoid being negative, we love films and want to share that passion, but every now and again, you do wonder what the hell is going on in Tinsel Town.
And nothing’s quite summed up that feeling like the new trailer for Ghoster? What’s Ghoster, you say? Well, it’s the latest family movie from Lionsgate, the studio behind Pinocchio: A True Story, which you may remember as the worst thing you’ve ever seen in your life.
According to the official plot description, Ghoster tells the story of an “inquisitive girl and her father” as they “unravel the secrets of Echoville Manor with the help of “world’s cutest spirit Ghoster”.” Apparently, Ghoster’s been trapped in the mansion for fifty years, and there’s a dragon involved somehow as well who wants to wipe everyone out.
Now on paper, that sounds like perfectly adequate family fun. After all, not every movie has to be Citizen Kane. The issue is that to our untrained eye, the film bears more than a passing resemblance to Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Check out the trailer here if you don’t believe us:
I mean, they both feature the ghost of a child (always fun for kids movies), who teams up with a young girl to solve a mystery. That’s basically the same plot as the 1995 Casper movie. Also, the title. They literally share the same last syllable. Ghost-er? Casp-er? Just us? We didn’t think so. Also is Ghoster a name?
Now it’s only fair to say that we haven’t seen Ghoster, and the marketing may be misleading. There could be huge differences present in the full film that aren’t presented here in the trailer, but if anything, that makes things sadder.
Because that means whoever put this trailer together has so little faith in an original idea that they deliberately made it look like Casper in an attempt to get bums in seats. Have some faith in your movie Lionsgate, it might work out for you.
Anyway, if you like the look of Ghoster (what’s wrong with you?) you’ll love our list of the best animated movies, or if you prefer being spooked, we have a guide to the best ghost movies.